


The Last Straw

by Guardian_of_Hope



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Laura Hale, Derek Is So Done, Gen, obligatory coffeshop au, werewolves are known
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-28 03:29:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8430097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guardian_of_Hope/pseuds/Guardian_of_Hope
Summary: Derek promised to help Laura out at her coffeeshop, The Bean.  This probably wasn't what she expected.





	

Derek glared across The Bean at the trio of baristas.  He’d agreed to help Laura out after her second shift manager quit on her, and fifteen minutes into his first shift, he was ready to give up.  Even though Laura had warned him that her second shift baristas were problem children, he hadn’t expected _this._   The girls had all spent more time giggling together than doing any of the cleaning chores, and he’d had to replace four wrong drink orders, two of which he’d seen them _deliberately_ make wrong.

He pulled out his phone and sent Laura a quick text, _Are you sure we can’t just fire them and start over?_

 _You’d have to run second shift all by yourself until I could hire new people._   Laura replied moments later.  Derek could picture her sprawled out on the couch, probably with her laptop on her lap desk, with one of those shows she recorded on the DVR playing as she worked on her expense reports.  She’d probably been waiting for him to crack.

 _Can I fire one of them, set an example?_ Derek asked after a moment.

_Three strike rule, Derek.  They get three warnings._

Derek considered that for a moment and couldn’t help the grin that blossomed. _I think I can work with that._   He tucked his phone away and advanced on the giggling trio.  “All right, let’s start the mid-shift clean up.  Sabra, you’re on the register so you’ve got the counters and facing the front racks.  Diane, you’ve got bathrooms.  Make sure they’re stocked and swept.  No need to mop now unless you need to.  Ashley, you’ve got tables and the condiments.  Sweep and stock.  Let’s see if we can get this done in half an hour.”

“We’ll take care of it after break,” Sabra said.

“No,” Derek said, loading his voice with the ring of command he’d learned at West Point. “You’ll do your chores and then you can take your breaks, one at a time.”  Seeing Diane and Ashley preparing to argue, he stepped towards them slowly, “You three are already on thin ice, so consider this your first warning.  If you want to keep your jobs, you’ll do your chores.  Now.”

For a moment, he thought they were going to argue more and he hoped Laura wouldn’t be too mad if he actually growled at them. 

Then, Ashley rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

Derek watched as they started their chores, then he stepped back into the kitchen where their baker, Boyd and their dishwasher, Isaac, were singing along to some country song as they cleaned up the kitchen.

“Everything okay?”  Isaac asked when he noticed Derek.

“Fine,” Derek grunted.

“Because you look like you did when Cora told you I was taking her to prom,” Isaac said.

Derek resisted the urge to snarl, both at the reminder that Isaac and Cora were technically still dating and at the young man’s unique blend of concern and cheer that drove him crazy even at the best of times.

“Isaac,” Boyd said.

Isaac opened his mouth, hesitated, then closed it.  Then he opened it again, “Are we still going to the State Park on Saturday, do you think?  Erica was asking about it.”

“Laura and you three are,” Derek said, reminding himself that it could be worse; Erica could be working _here_ with the other two.  Isaac might be inappropriately cheerful and Boyd might be a mix of troll and competency, but Erica would be mocking him and there would be nothing subtle about it.  “I’ll be here, trying not to do something I’ll regret.”

As much as Isaac annoyed him, Derek found speaking with his packmates to be calming.  Even if they didn’t bring up the trio of baristas currently driving him insane, Derek could practically _feel_ the tension drain off him.

Then Boyd had given him a long look, “You know, you could just tell them you’re seeing someone.”

“I’m sorry?”  Derek asked.

“Sabra, Diane, and Ashley,” Boyd said.  “Tell them you’re seeing someone.  That might help some.”

“But I’m not,” Derek protested.

“Yeah, and they don’t know that,” Isaac said.  He gestured at Derek, “Look, you’re hot and I promise the girls are interested.  If you’re taken, then they’ll leave you alone.”

Derek closed his eyes, wondering if he was going to have to have this conversation again.

“Look,” Boyd said, “you don’t want to date, we get that.  They don’t.”

“The problem isn’t them flirting,” Derek said tightly, “It’s that they’re too damn lazy to do their jobs.”  He flexed his hands for a moment, “And please stop suggesting a fake boyfriend as the way to get out of issues you don’t understand.  It doesn’t help, and frankly, I’m tired of having to deal with _your_ amatonormativity on top of everything else.”

The chime for the front door sounded and Derek listened to see how Sabra was handling the counter.

Silence.

He pushed away from the counter he’d been leaning against.

“Hello?”  A nervous voice called.

Derek allowed himself a silent snarl before heading out of the kitchen.

Sabra was nowhere in sight, the counter was minimally cleaned, and Derek could see two tables with trash still on them.

Standing by the order station was a lanky young man, probably not quite twenty, with brown hair and a collection of moles that distracted Derek for a moment before he remembered himself. “Can I help you?”

The young man bit his lip and then tried to smile, “Hi, I’m Stiles Stilinski and I was wondering if you knew if you were hiring?”

Derek considered for a moment, glancing again at the tables.  “One moment,” he stepped back into the kitchen, “Isaac, can you give me a hand up here?”

“Sure,” Isaac said.

“Just take care of the tables, please?”  Derek said.  He stepped back into the front end to face Stiles, “I’m Derek Hale, I’m the shift manager.  We’re not exactly hiring right now, but,” he held up his hand as Stiles’s smile faltered, “That’s not to say we won’t be hiring in the near future.  Do you have experience?”

Stiles nodded, “Well yeah, my buddy Scott and I used to work at Starbucks back home.  We came out for college and I figured a job would be helpful right about now.  Scott’s looking too, but he had class and I saw this place and…” he waved his hand as if to indicate the rest of the story.

“Let me get you an application,” Derek said, “and your friend Scott, if you think he’ll be interested.”

“Definitely,” Stiles said.

Derek hesitated a moment, “I don’t suppose you know anyone else looking for a job?”

Stiles frowned for a moment, “Maybe?”

Derek nodded, “I’ll give you a third application then.”

“Okay,” Stiles said.

Derek stepped back into the kitchen, heading for the closet that doubled as Laura’s on-site office.  Boyd held up his phone, “Laura says she needs to meet them.”

“You talking with her?”  Derek asked.

“Yes,” Boyd said.

Derek took the phone from Boyd and held it to his ear, “Laura, the girls are gone.  I haven’t checked, but I bet they’re taking their break.”

“Did you tell them they could?”  Laura asked.

“I told them to do the cleaning _first,”_ Derek said.

“This kid,” Laura said, “he has experience?”

“He says he does,” Derek said, “and a friend, maybe two.”

Laura hummed thoughtfully. “Ask him to come back at a quarter until six, with the app filled out and his friends and we’ll see if they’ll work out.  If Sabra, Diane, and Ashley went on break, they’re gone.  I’m getting tired of this.”

“I’ll fire them,” Derek said, “it’ll be my pleasure.”

“Go right ahead,” Laura said, “just get your friend the applications.”

“Right,” Derek said and hung up.

He passed Boyd the phone and went to print up the application from the computer as well as check the time cards for the three baristas.

Applications in hand, Derek headed back into the front end where Stiles waited.  “Here,” Derek said, handing over the papers.  “If you and your friends come back at a quarter to six, the owner will be here.  She wants to meet with you.  Her exact words were ‘we’ll see if they work out’.”

“I’ll be here,” Stiles said, “Scott too.”

Derek nodded and watched the boy leave.  Then he turned to Isaac, “Call me if a customer shows up, I have something I need to take care of.”

“You got it,” Isaac said with a wave.

Derek went back to the office and settled in at the computer, keeping half an ear out for Isaac’s summons, or the girls’ return.  It wouldn’t take long for him to deal with this last loose end.

He was helping Boyd sort the last of the day’s supply delivery by the time the baristas returned and Derek signaled Boyd to be quiet so they could listen.

“I told you they’d handle it without us,” Sabra said smugly.

“I don’t know,” Ashley said.  “We could get in trouble.”

“Look,” Diane said, “We haven’t before, have we?  They’ll just lecture us and…” Her voice trailed off.

“What?”  Sabra asked.

“My ID isn’t working,” Diane said.

“Must be a glitch,” Sabra said, “let me try.”

Derek moved to the door of the kitchen where he could see the three try their ID cards on the register.

“Why won’t this work?” Diane snapped.

“Probably because you don’t work here anymore,” Derek said bluntly, making the three jump.

“Excuse me?”  Sabra said.

Derek smiled. “You don’t work here anymore.  Laura and I are tired of you three ignoring everything you don’t want to do or deal with.  You’ve been fired, you’ll be paid up through the time you clocked for break, you will _not_ be getting a recommendation from us.”

“But,” Diane said.

“You’ve been warned before,” Derek said.  “You’ve been told.  _You signed acknowledgement of your job requirements, guidelines, and policies._   You’ve violated them for the last time.”

“Laura would never,” Sabra began.

“Laura would,” Derek retorted.  “But furthermore, Laura isn’t the sole voice of authority around here.”

“You’re just a manager,” Sabra said.

“Co-owner,” Derek said.  “Laura, Cora, and I all invested in The Bean, but until recently it’s been Laura’s to manage.  As per company policy, we have a two-thirds agreement that you three need to go.  If you want a full agreement, I can get Cora on the phone right now to weigh in.”

“You’ll be hearing from my father,” Sabra announced.

“Go ahead,” Derek said, “we have nothing to hide here.  That being said, please leave or I will summon the police.”

Sabra huffed, then turned and flounced out of the shop with Diane and Ashley steps behind her. Only Ashley looked back with remorse.

“That looked like fun,” Isaac commented as he came around the corner from the dining area.

“It was,” Derek replied.

“What did Sabra mean about her father though?”  Isaac asked.

“Sabra’s dad is Leonard Yates,” Derek said. “He specializes in unjustified firings and the like.  It’s part of why Laura was hesitant to do more than reprimand them, the threat that Yates would get involved unnerved her.”

“And you’re not worried?”  Boyd asked.

“Nope,” Derek said.  “Remember when we upgraded the security systems when I got back?”

“Yeah,” Isaac said.

“Laura and I have video evidence of them violating the employee policies repeatedly,” Derek said, “full audio and video.  Not to mention the time card records to show their flagrant disregard to the schedule policies.”

“Do you have those records on us?”  Isaac asked nervously.

“Discipline policy states that we only keep tape records if we verbally or formally reprimand an employee,” Derek said, “how many times have you been reprimanded?”

“You’d know that if you’d read the updated policies,” Boyd said, “it’s not like this is a national secret or something.”

“Huh,” Isaac said.

“Now, that kid, Stiles, and his buddies will be here for an interview later,” Derek said, “but that means we’re running this shift with the three of us.  You two sort it out, but I’d like to get the chores done while we’re running slow.  Yes, Isaac, that includes the ladies’ room.  No, we can’t wait for Laura to show up and take care of it.  If you’re so squeamish, Boyd can do it.”

“Flip you for it,” Boyd said promptly.

“Not with one of your coins,” Isaac replied dryly.

“I don’t care how you decide,” Derek said as he headed for the supply cabinet, “just get it done.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is possibly the kick off of a collection of short stories about the Pack who runs The Bean, there was a lot of backstory that I couldn't fit in here that I'd like to explore later. Also, massive thanks go to my last minute Beta: royeauxhale

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Graphics: The Last Straw](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9541163) by [madsmurf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/madsmurf/pseuds/madsmurf)




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